norman



J. T. NORMAN HEATING SYSTEM April 22, 1952 2 SHEETS-Q-SFEET 1 Filed Sept. 22. 1948 o u a u o o o o n o n o u-o u e u u o 0 n lung I 3 vu on'tom, man

Jose ah T/Vor mN u April 22, 1952 T M N 2,594,063

HEATING SYSTEM Filed Sept. 22, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 To chimney] fiseph T/VOTmaru,

Patented Apr. 22, 1952 ..UNITED STAKES [PATENT .OFFlCE Claims.

My invention relates to systems for heating 1 buildings, and it particularly has forits object to utilize to the fullest extent the heat from furnaces now lost by passing the smoke and gases from the furnace directly into the chimney flue. Further, the invention has for its object to increase the efiiciency of present-day heating sys- *tems so as to obtain a greater percentage of heat from a given amount of heat-producing material (coal, for example) than it is possible to obtain with the present-day heating practice.

Again, it is an object to provide a heating system in which the smoke is consumed andsparks extinguished before the remaining products of "combustion are released to the stack.

Again, it is an object to provide a heating system in the nature of an attachment to ordinary furnaces which also embodies provisions for connecting the smoke outlet of the-furnace directly with the stack by a reduced area duct when the auxiliary apparatus is not working so as to maintain a low fire in the furnace ready for instant use when the auxiliary apparatus is called into action.

Further, the invention has for its object to provide an apparatus as an auxiliary which can be employed with furnaces that burn coal under "natural-draft, furnaces that burn coal under forced draft, or furnaces that burn oil or gas,

without the necessity of changing the furnace structure; and which will operate in cooperation with the blower or the burner (as the case may be) thermostat controls now commonly employed. Other objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out hereinafter.

To the attainment of the aforesaid objects and ends the invention still further resides in the novel details of construction, combination and l arrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described in the following detailed description, and then be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

.. Fig. 1 is a part vertical section and part elevation, somewhat diagrammatic in form, disclosing one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing .another embodiment of the invention.

.. :..In. the. drawings, in which. like. numerals. and

:letters. of reference. designate. .likesparta': in all the'figures, 'I or 1 represents.thefurnace... :This 1. .sfur-nace'i may be of. ':'any. known :con'struction.

either coal, burning under natural draft, coal, burning under forced draft as when stokers are used, oil burning or gas burning, as the case'may be. For convenience of illustrationl have shown a coal-burning natural-draft. furnace in the first embodiment and an oil-burning furnace in the second embodiment of. the invention.

3 The first embodiment By reference to Figs. land 2 it will-be seen that l designates the furnace, 2 thegrate, 3.the fire-box, 4 the smokefiues within the furnace which lead to: the outlet 5 that-normally is of relatively large cross-sectional area? and connects directlyto a stack :shaving a fine of like crossa sectional area for I goodinatural draft.

The :water and/orsteam chamber of the furnace is indicated 'by 6 and theusual riser to the usual radiators (notshown) is indicatedby I.

'When: my invention is used it is not necessary to have a stack of as large a cross-section as heretofore, .for. reasonsfiwhich will .be obvious later.

. In applying my invention.- to existingrheating plants, the smoke outlet of the furnace is. capped at 8, to which cap is connected apipezsection 29' of a reduced cross-sectional area "which joinswith a pipe 28 within a casing. 9,..the, pipe :having a foraminous. portion 33. immersed in' water. in the casing 9. A branch 36:adjacent the furnace leads into a pipe 2'! that1connects directly with the chimney flue (not shown).

Theoutlet' of this branch 30 is controlled by an automaticallyactuatedvalve 3| which is slightly overb'alanced by a "weight 32 .on a piv0ted.valve carrying arm, of V which more Willbe saidv later.

I Thecasin'g 9Lencloses a combined .waterand steam or vapor. chamber H] which is separated from a water-leve1 control and condensate return chamber H .by a suitable partition. I5.

.011 the-casing 9 is mounted acasingzxla? for reception of the-cooledand Washed gasesibefore they are passedt'o thechimney flue. The casing i5 is divided into two cl'iambers?H'i and 4-1 by a partition l1," the 'chambers communicating at a The chamlbe'r 4|serves to receive high level" and at a low levelthrough suitable penings in the partition if, as shown in Fig. 1. the condensate from the radiators R.

The chamber 4! communicates with thechamber ll through a port. l8 normally closed by a valve It but which, when a determined amount a cfcondensate accumulates in casing l t, isopened by the heat 2 I. iand lever 2llgarrangement, shown in Fig. 1. Chamber 4| communicates with chamber 16 via a port ll Water is maintained at a constant level in chambers Hi and II (which communicate via a port I5) by means of an outlet valve l2 controlled by a float 13 similar to the float 20. The chambers l9 and II may be drained when desired via a suitable cock 14.

The centrifugal pump or blower 23 is mounted on casing l6 and has its inlet connected :by a pipe or duct 25 with the interior of the casing IS, a baffle 22 being provided to prevent liquid from being sucked up.

The outlet 25 of the blower 23 connects to the pipe 21 above the outlet of branch and valve 3|.

24 designates an electric motor for operating the pump or blower 23. In practice the motor 24 will be thermostatically controlled, in any well known manner, to operate within certain roomtemperature limits.

34, 35, 36. designate a number of auxiliary radiators R, connected in series by pipes 38 and 39. A pipe 31 connects the first radiator 34 of the series with the steam or vapor space within casing 9, while a return pipe connects the last radiator 36 of the series with the chamber 41.

The operation of the first embodiment of the invention is as follows: When motor 24 is not running, weight 32 holds valve 3! open and the chimney draft is then sufficient to keep a low fire in the fire box of the furnace. Now when motor 24 is energized and operates blower 23, the pressure set up in pipes 26 and 21, together with the suction set upin pipe 293!!, immediately closes valve 3! over the outlet of 30, so that all the products of combustion are drawn from the furnace outlet 5 through pipes 29, 28, 33 through the water in casing 9, pipe 31, the series of radiators R, pipe 43, casing [6 to blower 23 and from thence are forced through pipes 26 and 2'! to the stack.

The hot gases drawn from the furnace in passing through the water in the chamber of casing 9 are not only washed, but these gases give off their heat to the water, causing it to vaporize and/or boil to form steam. This vapor and/or steam passing through the radiators R. gives off heat'to the atmosphere surrounding the radiators. The radiators may be placed at, above, or even below the furnace level, as desired, since the flow of fluid through the radiators is effected by the positive action of the centrifugal blower or pump 23.

As soon as the pump 23 stops, circulation from pipe 29 to pump 23 stops, pressure in pipe 25 drops to atmospheric, and chimney draft opens "valve 3|, causing sufficient natural draft from 5 via 30 to keep the fire alive until pump 23 starts up again.

If desired, a spark-arresting screen 55 may be inserted in pipe 2'! to prevent sparks going into the chimney at any time, thus eliminating chimney fires, when direct or natural draft is acting.

Since the gases passing through the water and vapors in casing 9 take up moisture-carrying oxygen in passing through casing 9, a portion of the gases after leaving pump 23 may be passed by a pipe 55 (controlled by a valve 51) to the ashpit of the furnace to assist draft and combustion in the furnace.

The second embodiment This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the products of combustion are not washed in casing 9 but, after losing their heat to the water in such casing, they are passed to pipe 2'! for discharge to the chimney (not shown).

In this form of the invention the pipe 28 leads to a coil or zig-Zag pipe 42 that in turn connects with pipe 25% the pipe 42 always being immersed in the water.

Thus, steam is generated in casing 3 This steam is passed into a main riser 44 from which branch risers 4'! carry it to the radiators 46 and from which return pipes connect with a main return pipe 45 by means of branches 48, suitable radiator control valves 49 being employed.

The casing 9 may be provided with a Water level glass 53, a steam pressure gauge 58 and a safety valve 59 of any approved construction.

I prefer to cover the pipes 23, 29, 39 (or 28 29 33*) from collar 8 (or 8 to the casing 9 (or 9*) with suitable heat insulation 43 so as to conserve the heat until released inside the casing.

In Fig. 3 the fire pot of the furnace is indicated by 5|, the fuel burner by 52, fuel line by 54 and the fuel feeder by 53, all of which may be of any usual construction and per se constitute no part of the present invention.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it is thought that the construction, operation and advantages of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art, and I desire it understood that changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. 1

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a furnace having a smoke outlet, of an auxiliary apparatus comprising a casing containing water, a pump, a pipe connection from said smoke outlet to said casing, a pipe connection from said casing to said pump, a pipe connection from said pump to a chimney connection, a pipe connection between said first mentioned pipe connection and said chimney connection and an automatic valve controlling passage through said last named, pipe connection, said valve being constructed to open while said pump is at rest and to be closed when said pump is in action by the pressure differential generated adjacent the valve by the moving gases, said first mentioned pipe connection including a section extending into said casing below the water level and delivering the products of combustion into the water, said casing including a steam chamber and a return chamber, said second mentioned pipe connection leading from said return chamber to the pump, a set of serially connected radiators connected to said steam and return chambers respectively, and means to maintain water at a predetermined level in said steam chamber.

2. In combination with a furnace having a smoke outlet, of an auxiliary apparatus comprising a casing containing water, a pump, a pipe connection from said smoke outlet to said casing, a pipe connection from said casing to said pump, a pipe connection from said pump to a chimney connection, a, pipe connectionbetween said first mentioned pipe connection and said chimney connection and an automatic valve controlling passage through said last named pipe connection, said valve being constructed to open while said pump is at rest and to be closed when said pump is in action by the pressure differential generated adjacent the valve by the moving gases, said first mentioned pipe connection including a section extending into said casing below the water level and delivering the products of combustion into the water, said casing including a steam chamber and a return chamber, said second mentioned pipe connection leading from said return chamber to the pump, a set of serially connected radiators connected to said steam and return chambers respectively, means to maintain water at a predetermined level in said steam chamber, and a fioat-valve-controlled port between said return chamber and said steam chamber.

3. In a heating system, a furnace having a smoke outlet and a jacket for heating fluid, a connection leading from said jacket for conducting heating fluid to radiators, at least one additional radiator, means for connecting said additional radiator to a chimney, and means for conducting the products of combustion from said smoke outlet to said additional radiator for passage through the same, and a direct connection between said smoke outlet and the chimney including an automatic balanced back check valve, and a forced draft creating means in said connection between said additional radiator and the chimney, said check valve being positioned below the place where said connection between said additional radiator and the chimney enters the chimney.

4. In combination with a furnace having a smoke outlet, a casing comprising a water containing chamber and a return chamber, a conduit connecting said smoke outlet with said casing, said conduit having a foraminous end terminating beneath the water level in said water chamber for delivering products of combustion, a pipe connected to said conduit and a chimney construction, an automatic valve interposed in said pipe and controlling communication with said smoke outlet and chimney, a pump connected to said return chamber and communicating with said chimney, a pipe connected to said water chamber adjacent the top thereof for receiving steam and products of combustion, a series of radiators connected to the last mentioned. pipe and communicating with said return chamber for delivering steam and products of combustion to said return chamber.

5. In combination with a furnace having a smoke outlet, a casing comprising a water containing chamber and ,a return chamber, a conduit connecting said smoke outlet with said casing, said conduit having a foraminous end terminating beneath the water level in said water chamberfor delivering products of combustion, pipe connected to said conduit and a chimney construction, an automatic Valve interposed in said pipe and controlling communication with said smoke outlet and chimney, a pump connected to said return chamber and communicating with said chimney, a pipe connected to said water chamber adjacent the top thereof for receiving steam and products of combustion, a series of radiators connected to the last mentioned pipe and communicating with said return chamber for delivering steam and products of combustion to said return chamber, and a valve controlled pipe connected to the outlet side of said pump and to the furnace ash pit.

JOSEPH TREWICK NORMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 318,902 Holcomb May 26, 1885 943,832 Kitchen Dec. 21, 1909 1,402,045 Brunett Jan. 3, 1922 1,647,739 McDonnell Nov. 1, 1927 2,046,813 Dunham et a1 July 7, 1936 2,164,718 Norman July 4, 1939 2,241,661 Furlong May 13, 1941 

